Bocker



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

J. B. KNICKERBOCKER.

PRESSURE REGULATOR.

No. 468,007. Patented Feb. 2, 1892.

mummilgn" @wir 11uminimi!!mnunuuunuumm! UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES Il. KNICKERBOCKEILOF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

PRESSURE-REGULATOR.

S15IECIIE'ICATON forming part of Letters Patent N o. 468,007', dated February 2, 1892. Application filed December 26, 1890. Serial No. 375.782. (No model.)

To all wtoin-t may concern;

Be it known that I, JAMES B. KNICKER- BOCKER, of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pressure- Regulators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like figures refer to like parts.

M y invention relates to the construction of devicesfor regulating the pressure in gasmains and service-pipes, and will be understood from the following description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of my device. Fig. 2 is a section on the line @c so, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the reducingwalve. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the escape-valve.

In detail, 1 is a casing centrally divided, and 2 a diaphragm secured therein, having a metal backing-plate 3 upon the top.

4L is the diaphragm-stem, centrally threaded, upon which works a nut 5, confining the diaphragm and its backing-plate between it and a flange G, formed on the diaphragm-stem, the upper end of this rod screwing into a head 8, providing bearings for the pivot-pin 9, by whichthe lever 10 is connected to the diaphragm-rod.A This lever is pivoted at l1 to a projection 12, connected to the casing, and has an adjustable counter-weight 13 on its opposite end.

14 is a cup resting on a shoulder on the diaphragm-stem and clamped between such shoulder and the head S, which is threaded on the end of the stem. Atthe lower end of the diaphragm-stem is a regulating-valve 15, whose seat is at 34, its stem 17 being provided with short grooves to admit the passage of the gas upward from the chamber 1S below, to which a pipe leads from the well, and 19 is an opening above the regulating-valve 15, where the service-pipe is connected.

2O is a small outlet-pipe, also connected above the valve l5, leading through the union 2l to the chamber 22, in which is seated the escape-valve 23, its stem having a slot 24: at its upper end and engaging with the end 25 of the lever 26, which is centrally pivoted at Q7 to a projection 28 of the casing, the opposite end 2Q of this lever forminga hook which is adapted to engage behind the wall of the cup 14 at the proper time.

30 is an outlet-pipe to the open air.

The valve-stem 17 is screwed into the diaphragm-stem and at their junction the latter is rounded at 32 to form a cut-off valve whose seat is at 33 below. The grooves in the valvestem 17 are formed opposite each other, the alternate ones being of unequal length and neither of these extends down to the button of the valve 15, and the object of stopping these short of the valve and of making them of different lengths is to prevent the jumping of the valve when the consumption is suddenly increased. lVhen the gas is first admitted through the valve, it passes through the longer grooves, and when another fire is started and more gas is required the valve will then drop until the gas is also admitted through the shorter grooves, in this case regu lating the pressure upon the diaphragm and the amount of gas consumed, preventing any jumping or pulsating movement of the valve. If these grooves were of the same length, the gas would enter through all simultaneously, and upon an increase of pressure there would be nothing to prevent the pulsating movement of the valve. Again, if all the grooves were of one length, when the valve was opened the gas would enter through all the grooves; but the opening in each would be so small that it would hardly be seen, and if another fire was started the valve would drop correspondingly, opening all the grooves or ports a little farther, but yet so that it might not make any perceptible difference in the movement of the valve; but by making the grooves of different lengths, so as to open first one and then another set of ports, it gives the valve a sensible movement and keeps the machine at all times in operative condition and tends to prevent freezing or sticking of the parts.

The lever, with the weight, is so pivoted that the rising of the weight operates to close the reducing-valve and its fall tends to open that valve. The weight, however, always acts against the pressure beneath the diaphragm, and it is intended that the weight shall be so adjusted as to compensate evenly for the pressure upon the diaphragm and prevent IOC) any undue strain upon the parts during the operation of the machine, and at the same time regulating the amount of pressure.

This machine is intended to be attached directly to the well-pipe or to a high-pressure line of mains, and when the gas is turned off the pressure upon the diaphragm thereby ceases and the diaphragm stem will drop, seating the valve 32 in its seat 33 below, entirely cutting off the connection between the main and the service-pipe, and the weight will maintain the Valve in this position until it is manually raised, the pressure of the gas Ynot being able toaccomplish this result, and the device acts perfectly as an automatic cutoff. The descent of the diaphragmstem during this operation brings the rcavity `of the cup 14 over the hook 29 of the lever 26, depressing` that end of the lever and rai-sing the safety-valve 23 from its seat, thereby opening Y a free passage to vthe open air through the outlet-pipe from the chamber above the valve-seat 23, and even if there be any leak V-i'vliatev'er through the valve 15 the gas will escape through the pipes 2O and 30 to the open air and will not enter the service-pipe 19, leading to the house, nor accumulate so as to form a pressure sufficient to lift the diaphragm 2, thereby setting the regulator in operation. Again, if anything should happen to the valve 15, such as the wearing away of the valve in its seat or the entrance fof a pie'ce of gravel or matter that would prevent the valve from closing tightly, the pressure of the 'gas would operate to lift the safety'- pressure, so that when the gas-pressure is increased beyond a certain limit it will operate to open the safety-valve and allow the gas to escape to the open air instead of accumulat ing in the house-pipes, thereby creating a dangerous pressure.

When the 'weight is lifted by hand to set the mechanism in operation, the engagement of the cup 14: with the hook 20 of the `lever 26 is thereby broken andthe escape-valve automatically closes. This automatic regulation of the safety-valve is the principal feature of my invention, the other "one being the construction of the reducing-valve so as to prevent a jumping or pulsating movement of the l'atter. The former is the most important, inasmuch as the closing of the regulatin'g -Valve invariably and automatically operates to open the safety-valve, so that if there should be any leakage through this valve it would be carried away direct through the open safety-valve to the air. 1f this arrangement were not provided, the leakage of the gas, however slight at first, would soon cause an accumulation in the house-pipes, w'llich would operate to lift the diaphragm and ope-n the regulati ngvalve, thereby setting the regulator vin operation. By my device it wi'llb'eseen', therefore, thatth e admission of the gas to the service-pipe is entirely controlled by the diaphragm, so that whatever be the pressu re from the well thepressure in the house' cannot exceed the amount to which theweight is set, and when the gas is cut off by accident or any other means the gas is entirely shut off from the house-pipe by the automatic action of the device, and the mechanism must be re- 'stored to an operative position by hand, while if any gas should leak through the reducingvalve it is carried away through the safetyvalve and prevented from accumulating in the house-pipes, thus avoiding a serious source of danger.

VThat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

l. ln a gas-pressure regulator, a gas-cham ber inclosed in a casing,a iiexible diaphragm centrally secured therein, a rod connected midway to the diaphragm and above to a lever provided with an adjustable weight and pivoted to the frame and below t'o a Valve seated in a gasfchamber 'connected to the high-pressure supply, such valve provided with grooves of unequal lengths admitting gas through them successively as the con- ,sumption increases, a supply-pipe leading from the gaschamber, an outlet-'pipe also `'leading from the gas-chamber, 'connected to a fsafety-valve whose stem is slotted at the top,

and a lever pivoted to the frame, one 'of its ends ,entering such slot and the other extending inward and engaging with a cup connected to the diaphragm-stem when the latter is depressed, whereby the lever is tilted and the safety-valve opened, all kcombined substan- =tially as shown and described.

valve, as the latter is set to open at a suitable 2. A gas-pressure regulator comprising a gas-chamber incl'osed in a suitable casig a fdiaphragm 'secured therein, a stem 'centrally connected to such diaphragm, its upper end 'secured to a lever pivot'ed to the frame, earrying an adjustable weight counterbal'ancing the pressure beneath the diaphragm, an open# ing on the under side of the diaphragm-chiamber and casing, through which the stem passes, a regulating-valve secured 'to the lower end of su'ch stem and seated in the Walls of an inlet-pipe from the high-pressure supply, a service-pipe leading from the gas-chamber, an outlet-.pipe connected to the gas-chamber ab ove the regulating-valve and provided Vwith a safety-valve and a pipe opening into the air, and a lever pivoted to theframe,o`ne 'end entering a slot in the stem of the lsafety-valve, the other extending inward and engaging witha cup connected to the diaphragm-stemwhereby the descent of the diaphragm-'stem 'operates to close the valve opening into the highpressure mains, cutting off the supply and lifting the safety-valve, whereby any leakage passing through the regulating-valve is 'carried to the open air, substantially as shown and described.

3. A gas-pressure regulator composedof a casing forming a gas-chamber, supply and service pipes leading therefrom, a -diaphragm secured within such chamber, and a stem connected to such diaphragm, having a cut-off IOO ITO

valve upon its lower end and Within the sup-- ply-pipe, such valve Closed by the fall of the diaphragm-Stem, thereby cutting oil the sup' ply from the mains, in combination with a regulating-valve connected to the diaphragmstem and having its seat on the inlet side, and a safety-valve connected to the gaschamber and opened by the operation of the diaphragm-stem upon a lever pivoted to the casing, Such lever connected to the safety-valve, whereby such valve is opened simultaneously with the closing of the regulating-valve, substantially as Shown and described.

4C. A gas-pressure regulator composed of a gas-chamber connected with supply and service pipes, a diaphragm secured Within such chamber, a stem connected to the diaphragm and above to a pivoted lever having an adj ustable Weight, a cutoff valve formed on the end of the diaphragm-stem and seated in the base of the outlet-chamber, a regulating-Valve connected to the lower end of the diaphragmstein and seated on the high-pressure side of such wall, and a safety-val ve connected to the gas-chamber, such safety-valve and regulating-valve operated simultaneously by the fall of the diaphragm, Substantially as shown and described. p

In a pressure-regulator, a casing provided with inlet and outlet openings, a diaphragm secured therein, secured centrally to a stem connected below to a valve seated in the high-pressure supply-pipe and above to a lever carrying an adjustable Weight, a safety-valve seated in a pipe connected to the regulator on the low-pressure side and adjacent to the outlet, and connections between such valve and the diaphragm-stem for automatically opening the safety-valve when the gas-supply is cut off, whereby any leakage of gas through the cut-ofl valve is carried to the open air and its accumulation in the housepipes prevented, substantially as shown and described.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of December, 1890.-

JAMES B. KNICKERBOGKER. Titnessesr E. B. GRIFFITH, lH. I). NEALY. 

